Elementary: The View From Olympus (3x18)

Awww. Joan and Sherlock are just the bestest of friends, aren't they? I love it. Let's talk about the plot.

The case this week involves a Rideshare driver getting run over by a cab. Just as Sherlock and the rest of the team are thinking that this has something to do with Rideshare drivers vs. cab drivers, and the whole debate surrounding that, it turns out that it was actually something quite different. The man who killed the driver was blackmailed into doing so. He was a pedophile, and somebody has photographic evidence of him breaking his parole. Later, things get even more complicated when we find out that another unsolved murder happened a while back, and appears to also be connected to the Rideshare company, called "Zooss." (A bastardization of "Zeus," the Greek God).

Sherlock eventually discovers that two of Zooss' employees were using the companies advanced tracking software for their own nefarious purposes. One of them was blackmailing people to help pay off gambling debts, and the other was using the software to stalk somebody.

Much more interesting (as always with procedural shows for me) was the subplot. Sherlock has somebody coming to visit - a woman by the name of Agatha Sparrow. She's one of Sherlock's Irregulars but also one of his lovers. Sherlock, in anticipation of a lot of hot sex, relocates Joan to a fancy hotel - his treat. Joan goes along with it, but when the case breaks, she has to come to the Brownstone to work with Sherlock. She meets Agatha, and then finds out that Sherlock is hiding downstairs in Joan's office. Sherlock admits that he is hiding, because Agatha has asked him for something: his sperm. She wants to have a child, and she wants him to be the father.

Sherlock figures out pretty quickly that Agatha has ulterior motives for this. Turns out, Sherlock's father donated a lot of money to Agatha's charity group, and also suggested that Agatha incite Sherlock to provide an heir to the Holmes family. Agatha insists that she had been thinking about having a child anyway. The money from Mr. Holmes is nice, but it's not contingent on Sherlock agreeing to father a child. No matter what the truth may be, Sherlock has no desire to father a child, and he tells Agatha so.

Obviously upset over losing Agatha's companionship, Sherlock mopes around the Brownstone. Joan offers him ice cream, and Sherlock, after a token protest, agrees.

So. To start with, this episode wasn't my favorite. It didn't suck, but there were quite a few things that felt slightly off about it to me. The case itself didn't quite make sense. I found myself a little bit confused about the motivations of the murderer, and the reveals didn't feel both surprising and inevitable, like a good reveal really should.

In the other plot thread, I really enjoyed the exploration of Joan as a supportive friend, but I found the larger purpose of the subplot to be largely indecipherable. It seems an odd way to bring Sherlock's father back into the mix. We haven't seen or heard anything about him in quite a while, and then he shows up in the story to try and force Sherlock to produce an heir? That's a bit strange!

Also, there was a brief appearance by a very flamboyantly gay man who assisted Joan on putting together one piece of the case. He was way over the top. He kept saying "girl" to Joan and commenting on her fashion and everything like that. (He worked in fashion, but still). In a show with a lot of greatly nuanced characters, he stuck out like a sore thumb. As did the pedophile character, who was such a miserable pathetic disgusting excuse for a human being that it didn't come across at all believable.

Despite some not so stellar things, this episode continued to show me why I love this show so much - Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson are just such fascinating, brilliant characters.

First of all, Sherlock snarking at big, money-making corporations will forever be my favorite thing. He's so anti-capitalist it's hilarious. When "Zooss" representatives said that they needed to talk to their lawyer before they handed over private files, Sherlock couldn't help making a quippy reply. "Indeed. They might contest the invasion of privacy as being too ironic."

We also got to see a different side of Sherlock in this episode. It makes sense why he doesn't like to mix affection with sex, given the utterly traumatic experience of loving one Jamie Moriarty. But this Agatha woman is different. Sherlock doesn't love her, but he does genuinely like her as a person, and he's hurt by her betrayal. It was interesting to see him navigate these feelings of hurt.

Joan has been a supportive presence in Sherlock's life since day one, but back then it was her job. In this episode, I was really pleased to see Joan being extremely supportive without a hint of Joan-The -Sober-Companion to be seen. She was supportive as a friend. She offered ice cream, asked questions and got Sherlock to talk about his problems. That's so wonderful!

This show delights me for a lot of reasons. Even after a less than brilliant episode, I cannot wait for more. I want Jamie Moriarty, and I want her now!

6.5/10